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Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) is a major command of the United States Air Force
United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare branch of the Military of the United States and one of the uniformed services of the United States....
. AFSPC is headquartered at Peterson Air Force Base
Peterson Air Force Base

Peterson Air Force Base is a Air Force Base of the United States Air Force located at Colorado Springs, Colorado in El Paso County, Colorado, Colorado, United States and it provides runways for the adjacent City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport under a shared joint civil-military airport arrangement....
 Colorado. Its current commander is General C. Robert "Bob" Kehler
C. Robert Kehler

General officer Claude Robert "Bob" Kehler is Commander, Air Force Space Command, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. He is responsible for the development, acquisition and operation of the Air Force's space and missile systems....
.

Approximately 40,000 people, including 25,400 active-duty military and civilians, and 14,000 contractor employees, combine to perform AFSPC missions. Those 25,400 active-duty personnel are divided into approximately 7,100 military employees and 18,300 civilian employees, although their missions overlap.

AFSPC contributes to United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 deterrence
Deterrence theory

Deterrence theory is a military strategy developed during the Cold War. It is especially relevant with regard to the use of nuclear weapons, and figures prominently in current United States foreign policy regarding the development of nuclear technology in North Korea and Iran....
 through its intercontinental ballistic missile force and plays a vital role tying together and supporting the U.S.






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Air Force Space Command (AFSPC) is a major command of the United States Air Force
United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare branch of the Military of the United States and one of the uniformed services of the United States....
. AFSPC is headquartered at Peterson Air Force Base
Peterson Air Force Base

Peterson Air Force Base is a Air Force Base of the United States Air Force located at Colorado Springs, Colorado in El Paso County, Colorado, Colorado, United States and it provides runways for the adjacent City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport under a shared joint civil-military airport arrangement....
 Colorado. Its current commander is General C. Robert "Bob" Kehler
C. Robert Kehler

General officer Claude Robert "Bob" Kehler is Commander, Air Force Space Command, Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. He is responsible for the development, acquisition and operation of the Air Force's space and missile systems....
.

Approximately 40,000 people, including 25,400 active-duty military and civilians, and 14,000 contractor employees, combine to perform AFSPC missions. Those 25,400 active-duty personnel are divided into approximately 7,100 military employees and 18,300 civilian employees, although their missions overlap.

AFSPC contributes to United States
United States

The United States of America is a Federal government constitutional republic comprising U.S. state and a federal district. The country is situated mostly in central North America, where its Contiguous United States and Washington, D.C., the Capital districts and territories, lie between the Pacific Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, Borders of the U...
 deterrence
Deterrence theory

Deterrence theory is a military strategy developed during the Cold War. It is especially relevant with regard to the use of nuclear weapons, and figures prominently in current United States foreign policy regarding the development of nuclear technology in North Korea and Iran....
 through its intercontinental ballistic missile force and plays a vital role tying together and supporting the U.S. military worldwide through the use of many different types of satellites and other space operations.

On October 6, 2008, it was announced that the ballistic missile mission will be transferred to the new Air Force Global Strike Command. At the same time, it was also announced that AFSPC will gain the cyber warfare mission.

Mission

AFSPC describes its mission as being, "To Deliver Space and Missile capabilities to America and its warfighting Commands." AFSPC claims its activities make space reliable to United States warfighter
Warfighter

Warfighter is a term used by the United States Department of Defense to refer to any member of the US armed forces or a member of any armed forces under the US flag....
s (i.e. forces personnel) by assuring their access to space. In addition, AFSPC believes its ICBM forces deter adversaries contemplating the use of weapons of mass destruction
Weapons of mass destruction

A weapon of mass destruction is a weapon that can kill large numbers of humans and/or cause great damage to man-made structures , natural structures , or the biosphere in general....
 (WMD).

AFSPC has four primary mission areas:
  • Space forces support involves launching satellite
    Satellite

    In the context of spaceflight, a satellite is an Physical body which has been placed into orbit by human endeavor. Such objects are sometimes called artificial satellites to distinguish them from natural satellites such as the Moon....
    s and other high-value payloads into space using a variety of expendable launch vehicles
    Expendable launch system

    An expendable launch system is a launch system that uses an expendable launch vehicle to carry a payload into space. The vehicles used in expendable launch systems are designed to be used only once , and their components are not recovered after launch....
     and operating those satellites once in the medium of space
    Space

    Space is the boundless, three-dimensional extent in which Physical body and events occur and have relative position and direction. Physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions, although modern physics usually consider it, with time, to be part of the boundless four-dimensional continuum known as spacetime....
    .
  • Space control ensures friendly use of space through the conduct of counterspace operations encompassing surveillance
    Surveillance

    Surveillance is the monitoring of behavior. Systems surveillance is the process of monitoring the behavior of people, objects or processes within systems for conformity to expected or desired Norm in trusted systems for security or social control....
    , negation
    Negation

    In logic and mathematics, negation or not is an operation on logical values, for example, the logical value of a proposition, that sends true to false and false to true....
    , and protection.
  • Force enhancement provides weather
    Weather

    Weather is a set of all the Phenomenon occurring in a given atmosphere at a given time. Weather phenomena lie in the hydrosphere and troposphere....
    , communication
    Communication

    Communication is commonly defined as "the imparting or interchange of thoughts, opinions, or information by speech, writing, or signs...",, 1: an act or instance of transmitting and 3 a: "a process by which information is exchanged between individuals through a common system of symbols, signs, or beha...
    s, intelligence
    Intelligence

    Intelligence is an umbrella term used to describe a property of the mind that encompasses many related abilities, such as the capacities to reason, to plan, to problem solving, to think abstraction, to comprehend ideas, to use language, and to Learning....
    , missile warning, and navigation
    Navigation

    Navigation is the process of reading, and controlling the movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another. It is also the term of art used for the specialized knowledge used by navigators to perform navigation tasks....
    . Force enhancement is support to the warfighter.
  • Force application involves maintaining and operating a rapid response, land-based ICBM force as the Air Force's only on-alert strategic deterrent.


History

Missile warning and space operations were combined to form Air Force Space Command in 1982. During the Cold War
Cold War

The Cold War was the continuing state of conflict, tension and competition that existed between a number of world powers, including the United States, the Soviet Union, People's Republic of China, France, United Kingdom and those countries' respective allies from the mid-1940s to the early 1990s....
, space operations focused on missile warning, and command and control for national leadership. In 1991, Operation Desert Storm provided emphasis for the command's new focus on support to the warfighter. ICBM forces were merged into AFSPC in 1993.

Possible New Mission

A recent Pentagon report suggested that the command be renamed the Air Force Strategic Command so that it could be in charge of all nuclear weapons, not just ICBMs. The report also suggested that the Air Force place all nuclear airplanes in a numbered air force. This air force would in turn be controlled by the new command. The Air Force rejected this recommendation on October 6, 2008, and instead decided to create the new Global Strike Command
Global Strike Command

Air Force Global Strike Command is a provisional command of the United States Air Force outlined in a recent roadmap for the improvement of the United State's nuclear arsenal....
 that would carry out the ICBM and bomber missions.

Organization


Numbered Air Forces

Air Force Space Command has two Numbered Air Forces (NAFs).

Fourteenth Air Force
The Fourteenth Air Force provides space warfighting forces to U.S. Strategic Command in its capacity as Air Forces Strategic-Space, and is located at Vandenberg AFB
Vandenberg Air Force Base

Vandenberg Air Force Base is a United States military installation with a spaceport, in Santa Barbara County, California, California, United States....
, California. It manages the generation and employment of space forces to support U.S. Strategic Command and North American Aerospace Defense Command
North American Aerospace Defense Command

North American Aerospace Defense Command is a joint organization of Canada and the United States, that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty and defense for the two aformentioned countries....
 (NORAD) operational plans and missions.

Twentieth Air Force
The Twentieth Air Force, headquartered at Francis E. Warren AFB, Wyoming
Wyoming

The State of Wyoming is a sparsely populated U.S. state in the Northwestern United States of the United States. The majority of the state is dominated by the mountain ranges and rangelands of the Rocky Mountains, while the easternmost section of the state is a high altitude prairie region known as the High Plains ....
, maintains AFSPC's ICBM weapon systems in support of U.S. Strategic Command war plans. 20AF will be transferred to Global Strike Command in the near future.

Twenty-fourth Air Force
The Twenty-fourth Air Force, with the cyber warfare mission, will be activated under AFSPC in the near future, at a yet-to-be determined base.

Direct Reporting Units

AFSPC is the major command providing space forces and trained ICBM forces for U.S. Strategic Command. AFSPC also supports NORAD with ballistic missile warning information, operates the Space Warfare Center to develop space applications for direct warfighter support, and is responsible for the Department of Defense's ICBM follow-on operational test and evaluation program.

Space and Missile Systems Center
The Space and Missile Systems Center (SMC) at Los Angeles AFB
Los Angeles Air Force Base

Los Angeles Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base located in El Segundo, California. Los Angeles Air Force Base houses and supports the headquarters of the Air Force Space Command's Space and Missile Systems Center ....
, California, designs and acquires all Air Force and most Department of Defense
United States Department of Defense

The United States Department of Defense is the federal department charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government relating directly to national security and the Military of the United States....
 space systems. It oversees launches, completes on-orbit checkouts, then turns systems over to user agencies. It supports the Program Executive Office for Space on the NAVSTAR Global Positioning, Defense Satellite Communications
Defense Satellite Communications System

The Defense Satellite Communications System provides the United States with military communications to support globally distributed military users....
 and MILSTAR systems. SMC also supports the Defense Meteorological Satellite and Defense Support program and the Follow-on Early Warning System
Dew

Dew is water in the form of droplets that appears on thin, exposed objects in the morning or evening. As the exposed surface cools by thermal radiation its heat, atmospheric moisture condensation at a rate greater than that at which it can evaporation, resulting in the formation of water droplets....
. In addition, it supports development and acquisition of land-based intercontinental ballistic missiles for the Air Force Program Executive Office for Strategic Systems.

Space Innovation and Development Center
The Space Innovation and Development Center (SIDC) at Schriever AFB
Schriever Air Force Base

Schriever Air Force Base is a base of the United States Air Force located approximately 10 miles east of Peterson AFB near Colorado Springs, Colorado in El Paso County, Colorado, Colorado, United States....
, Colorado is also part of the command. The center plays a major role in fully integrating space systems into the operational Air Force. Its force enhancement mission looks at ways to use space systems to support warfighters in the areas of navigation, weather, intelligence, communications and theater ballistic missile warning, and how these apply to theater operations.

Locations

The AFSPC headquarters is a major unit located at Peterson AFB, Colorado
Colorado

The State of Colorado is a U.S. state located in the Mountain States of the United States of America. Colorado may also be considered to be a part of the Western United States and Southwestern United States regions of the United States....
. There are 9 AFSPC host bases:
  • Buckley AFB, Colorado
    Colorado

    The State of Colorado is a U.S. state located in the Mountain States of the United States of America. Colorado may also be considered to be a part of the Western United States and Southwestern United States regions of the United States....
    • 460th Space Wing
      460th Space Wing

      The 460th Space Wing is located at Buckley Air Force Base, east of Aurora, Colorado.Since the 460th was redesignated on 1 October, 2004, the wing has delivered global infrared surveillance, provided worldwide missile warning and tracking for Homeland security purposes, and provided expeditionary warrior Airmen to combatant commanders worldw...
  • Francis E. Warren AFB
    F. E. Warren Air Force Base

    Francis E. Warren Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base located two miles west of the central business district of Cheyenne, Wyoming, in Laramie County, Wyoming, Wyoming, United States....
    , Wyoming
    Wyoming

    The State of Wyoming is a sparsely populated U.S. state in the Northwestern United States of the United States. The majority of the state is dominated by the mountain ranges and rangelands of the Rocky Mountains, while the easternmost section of the state is a high altitude prairie region known as the High Plains ....
     (Soon to be transferred to the Global Strike Command
    Global Strike Command

    Air Force Global Strike Command is a provisional command of the United States Air Force outlined in a recent roadmap for the improvement of the United State's nuclear arsenal....
    )
    • 20th Air Force
    • 90th Missile Wing
  • Los Angeles AFB
    Los Angeles Air Force Base

    Los Angeles Air Force Base is a United States Air Force Base located in El Segundo, California. Los Angeles Air Force Base houses and supports the headquarters of the Air Force Space Command's Space and Missile Systems Center ....
    , California
    California

    California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
    • Space and Missile Systems Center
      Space and Missile Systems Center

      The Space and Missile Systems Center is a part of Air Force Space Command of the United States Air Force. According to the SMC, its mission is to conduct research and development of U.S....
    • 61st Air Base Wing
      61st Air Base Wing

      The 61st Air Base Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force based out of Los Angeles Air Force Base, El Segundo, California....
    • Military Satellite Communications Systems Wing
      Military Satellite Communications Systems Wing

      The United States Air Force's Military Satellite Communications Systems Wing is a unit....
    • Global Positioning Systems Wing
      Global Positioning Systems Wing

      The United States Air Force's Global Positioning Systems Wing is a unit of the Space and Missile Systems Center located at Los Angeles AFB, California....
    • Space-Based Infrared Systems Wing
      Space-Based Infrared Systems Wing

      The United States Air Force's Space-Based Infrared Systems Wing is a unit....
    • Launch and Range Systems Wing
      Launch and Range Systems Wing

      The United States Air Force's Launch and Range Systems Wing is a unit located at Los Angeles Air Force Base in El Segundo, California....
    • Space Superiority Systems Wing
      Space Superiority Systems Wing

      The Space Superiority Systems Wing at LAFB includes the "Space Situational Awareness Group" and the "Counterspace Group"....
    • Space Development and Test Wing
      Space Development and Test Wing

      The Space Development and Test Wing is a unit of the Air Force Space Command of the United States Air Force. The Wing is located at Kirtland Air Force Base in Albuquerque, New Mexico....
       (Kirtland AFB, New Mexico
      New Mexico

      New Mexico is a U. S. State located in the Southwestern United States of the United States. Inhabited by Native Americans in the United States populations for many centuries, it has also has been part of the Spanish Empire viceroyalty of New Spain, part of Mexico, and a U.S....
      )
    • 526th ICBM Systems Group
      526th ICBM Systems Group

      The United States Air Force's 526th ICBM Systems Group is a unit located at Hill AFB, Utah....
       (Hill AFB, Utah
      Utah

      The State of Utah is a western United States U.S. state of the United States. It was the List of U.S. states by date of statehood admitted to the United States on January 4, 1896....
      )
  • Malmstrom AFB
    Malmstrom Air Force Base

    Malmstrom Air Force Base is a United States Air Force base and census-designated place in Cascade County, Montana, Montana, United States. It is the home of the 341st Missile Wing of the Air Force Space Command ....
    , Montana
    Montana

    Montana is a U.S. state in the Western United States. The western third of the state contains numerous mountain ranges; other 'island' ranges are found in the central third of the state, for a total of 77 named ranges of the Rocky Mountains....
     (Soon to be transferred to the Global Strike Command
    Global Strike Command

    Air Force Global Strike Command is a provisional command of the United States Air Force outlined in a recent roadmap for the improvement of the United State's nuclear arsenal....
    )
    • 341st Missile Wing
      341st Missile Wing

      The United States Air Force's 341st Missile Wing is an ICBM unit headquartered at Malmstrom AFB, Montana. Until July 1, 2008, it was designated as the 341st Space Wing....
  • Minot AFB, North Dakota
    North Dakota

    North Dakota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States and Western United States regions of the United States of America. North Dakota is the 19th largest state by area in the US; it is the 48th most populous, with just over 640,000 residents as of 2006....
      (Soon to be transferred to the Global Strike Command
    Global Strike Command

    Air Force Global Strike Command is a provisional command of the United States Air Force outlined in a recent roadmap for the improvement of the United State's nuclear arsenal....
    )
    • 91st Missile Wing
  • Patrick AFB, Florida
    Florida

    Florida is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the northeast....
    • 45th Space Wing
      45th Space Wing

      The 45th Space Wing is a wing of the United States Air Force based at Patrick Air Force Base, Florida....
  • Peterson AFB
    Peterson Air Force Base

    Peterson Air Force Base is a Air Force Base of the United States Air Force located at Colorado Springs, Colorado in El Paso County, Colorado, Colorado, United States and it provides runways for the adjacent City of Colorado Springs Municipal Airport under a shared joint civil-military airport arrangement....
    , Colorado
    Colorado

    The State of Colorado is a U.S. state located in the Mountain States of the United States of America. Colorado may also be considered to be a part of the Western United States and Southwestern United States regions of the United States....
    • 21st Space Wing
      21st Space Wing

      The 21st Space Wing is a unit of the Air Force Space Command based at Peterson Air Force Base, Colorado. The unit is tasked with the operation of early missile warning and space object detection equipment around the world in support of NORAD and United States Strategic Command through a network of command and control units and ground based s...
    • 821st Air Base Group (Thule Air Base
      Thule Air Base

      Thule Air Base , an unincorporated area enclave within Qaasuitsup municipality in northern Greenland, is the United States Air Force's northernmost base, located 1118 km north of the Arctic Circle and 1524 km south of the North Pole on the northwest side of the island of Greenland....
      , Greenland
      Greenland

      Greenland is a member country of the Kingdom of Denmark located between the Arctic Ocean and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago....
      )
  • Schriever AFB, Colorado
    Colorado

    The State of Colorado is a U.S. state located in the Mountain States of the United States of America. Colorado may also be considered to be a part of the Western United States and Southwestern United States regions of the United States....
    • 50th Space Wing
      50th Space Wing

      The 50th Space Wing is a Wing of the United States Air Force under the United States Air Force#Major commands of Air Force Space Command . It was activated on January 30, 1992, replacing the 2d Space Wing, which was inactivated on the same date....
    • Space Innovation and Development Center
  • Vandenberg AFB
    Vandenberg Air Force Base

    Vandenberg Air Force Base is a United States military installation with a spaceport, in Santa Barbara County, California, California, United States....
    , California
    California

    California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
    • 14th Air Force
    • 30th Space Wing
      30th Space Wing

      The 30th Space Wing is an air force wing forming a subordinate unit of the Fourteenth Air Force of the Air Force Space Command of the United States Air Force....
    • 148th Space Operations Squadron
      148th Space Operations Squadron

      The United States Air Force's 148th Space Operations Squadron is a satellite control unit located at Vandenberg AFB, California. The 148th SOPS is tasked with back-up command and control of the MILSTAR satellite....


AFSPC also operates several Air Force Stations for launch support and early warning missions.
  • Cape Cod Air Force Station
    Cape Cod Air Force Station

    Cape Cod Air Force Station exists on the northwest corner of the Massachusetts Military Reservation on Flatrock Hill. It is comprised of one PAVE PAWS radar station and is operational 24/7....
    , Massachusetts
    Massachusetts

    The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a U.S. state located in the New England region of the Northeastern United States United States. It borders Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north....
    • 6th Space Warning Squadron
      6th Space Warning Squadron

      The 6th Space Warning Squadron is located at Cape Cod Air Force Station, in Sandwich, Massachusetts. It keeps watch for sea-launched and intercontinental ballistic missiles launched toward North America....
  • Cavalier AFS, North Dakota
    North Dakota

    North Dakota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States and Western United States regions of the United States of America. North Dakota is the 19th largest state by area in the US; it is the 48th most populous, with just over 640,000 residents as of 2006....
    • 10th Space Warning Squadron
      10th Space Warning Squadron

      The 10th Space Warning Squadron, Cavalier Air Force Station, North Dakota, 15 miles south of the Canadian and U.S. border, keeps watch for sea-launched and intercontinental ballistic missiles launched toward North America....
  • Cheyenne Mountain AFS
    Cheyenne Mountain

    Cheyenne Mountain is a mountain located on the southwest side of Colorado Springs, Colorado, USA, and is home to the Cheyenne Mountain Air Force Station and its Cheyenne Mountain Directorate, formerly known as the Cheyenne Mountain Operations Center ....
    , Colorado
    Colorado

    The State of Colorado is a U.S. state located in the Mountain States of the United States of America. Colorado may also be considered to be a part of the Western United States and Southwestern United States regions of the United States....
  • Clear Air Force Station
    Clear Air Force Station

    Clear Air Force Station is a United States Air Force Station located 5 miles south of Anderson, Alaska, Alaska, USA, northeast of Mount McKinley, and southwest of Fairbanks, Alaska....
    , Alaska
    Alaska

    Alaska is the largest U.S. state of the United States by area; it is situated in the northwest extremity of the North American continent, with Canada to the east, the Arctic Ocean to the north, and the Pacific Ocean to the west and south, with Russia further west across the Bering Strait....
    • 13th Space Warning Squadron
      13th Space Warning Squadron

      The 13th Space Warning Squadron is a missile warning unit assigned to the United States Air Force....
  • New Boston AFS, New Hampshire
    New Hampshire

    New Hampshire is a U.S. state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States United States of America. The state was named after the southern English Counties of England of Hampshire....
    • 23d Space Operations Squadron
      23d Space Operations Squadron

      United States Air Force's 23d Space Operations Squadron is a unit located at New Boston Air Force Station, New Hampshire....
  • Onizuka AFS, California
    California

    California is a U.S. state on the West Coast of the United States of the United States, along the Pacific Ocean. It is bordered by Oregon to the north, Nevada to the east, Arizona to the southeast, and to the south the Mexico state of Baja California....
    • 21st Space Operations Squadron
      21st Space Operations Squadron

      The 21st Space Operations Squadron is a satellite control unit of the 50th Network Operations Group of the United States Air Force located at Onizuka Air Force Station, California....


Space capabilities

Spacelift operations at the East and West Coast launch bases provide services, facilities and range safety control for the conduct of DOD, NASA and commercial launches. Through the command and control of all DOD satellites, satellite operators provide force-multiplying effects -- continuous global coverage, low vulnerability and autonomous operations. Satellites provide essential in-theater secure communications, weather and navigational data for ground, air and fleet operations and threat warning. Ground-based radar and Defense Support Program satellites monitor ballistic missile launches around the world to guard against a surprise missile attack on North America. Space surveillance radars provide vital information on the location of satellites and space debris for the nation and the world.

Resources


Satellites

  • Global Positioning System
    Global Positioning System

    The Global Positioning System is a global navigation satellite system developed by the United States Department of Defense and managed by the United States Air Force 50th Space Wing....
  • Defense Satellite Communications System
    Defense Satellite Communications System

    The Defense Satellite Communications System provides the United States with military communications to support globally distributed military users....
  • Defense Meteorological Satellite Program
    Defense Meteorological Satellite Program

    The Defense Meteorological Satellite Program monitors meteorological, oceanographic, and solar-terrestrial physics for the United States Department of Defense....
  • Defense Support Program
    Defense Support Program

    The Defense Support Program is a program of the U.S. Air Force that operates the reconnaissance satellites which form the principal component of the Satellite Early Warning System currently used by the United States....
  • NATO
    NATO

    The North Atlantic Treaty Organization , also called the Atlantic Alliance, is a military alliance established by the signing of the North Atlantic Treaty on 4 April 1949....
     III and IV communications
  • Fleet Satellite Communications System
    Fleet Satellite Communications System

    FLTSATCOM was a satellite communication system of the U.S. Navy which was used for UHF radio communications between ships, submarines, airplanes and ground stations of the U.S....
     UHF
    Ultra high frequency

    Ultra high frequency designates a range of Electromagnetic radiation waves with frequency between 300 megahertz and 3 gigahertz . Also known as the decimetre band or decimetre wave as the wavelengths range from ten to one decimetres....
     follow-on
  • MILSTAR


Launch Vehicles

  • Delta II
    Delta II

    Delta II is a space launch system originally designed and built by McDonnell Douglas. Delta II is part of the Delta rocket family and has been in service since 1989....
  • Atlas V
    Atlas V

    The Atlas V rocket is an expendable launch vehicle formerly built by Lockheed Martin and now built by the Lockheed Martin-Boeing joint venture United Launch Alliance....
  • Delta IV
    Delta IV rocket

    Delta IV is an active expendable launch system in the Delta rocket family. Delta IV uses rockets designed by Boeing's Boeing Integrated Defense Systems and built in the United Launch Alliance facility in Decatur, Alabama....


Space Situational Awareness

  • Air Force Satellite Control Network
    Air Force Satellite Control Network

    The Air Force Satellite Control Network provides support for the operation, control, and maintenance of a variety of United States Department of Defense and some non?-DoD satellites....
  • Maui Optical Tracking Identification Facility
    Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing observatory

    The Air Force Maui Optical and Supercomputing observatory is an Air Force Research Laboratory operating location on Maui with a two-fold mission....
    ,
  • Ground-Based Electro-Optical Deep Space Surveillance System
  • Passive Space Surveillance System
    Air Force Space Surveillance System

    The Air Force Space Surveillance System, colloquially known as the Space Fence, is a multistatic radar system that detects orbital objects passing over United States....
  • Rapid Attack Identification Detection Reporting System
    Rapid Attack Identification Detection Reporting System

    The Rapid Attack Identification Detection Reporting System, also known as RAIDRS is a ground-based space control system that provides near real-time event detection....


Ballistic Missile Warning Radars

  • AN/FPS-115 PAVE PAWS
    PAVE PAWS

    PAVE PAWS is a United States' Air Force Space Command radar system operated by three 21st Space Wing squadrons for missile warning and space surveillance....
  • AN/FPS-108 Cobra Dane
    Cobra Dane

    The AN/FPS-108 COBRA DANE radar is a Passive electronically scanned array installation operated by the United States Air Force at Eareckson Air Station on the island of Shemya, Alaska....
  • AN/FPQ-16 Perimeter Acquisition Radar Characterization System (PARCS)
  • Sea-based X-band Radar
    Sea-based X-band Radar

    Sea-Based X-Band Radar is a floating, self-propelled, mobile radar station designed to operate in high winds and heavy seas. It is part of the United States Government's Ballistic Missile Defense System....
     Sea-Based X-Band Radar


Intercontinental Ballistic Missiles

  • LGM-30G Minuteman III


Ballistic Missile Early Warning System
Ballistic Missile Early Warning System

The United States Air Force Ballistic Missile Early Warning System was the first operational ballistic missile detection radar. The original system was built in 1959 and could provide long-range warning of a ballistic missile attack over the polar region of the Northern Hemisphere....
, PAVE PAWS, and PARCS radars. The , phased-array and mechanical radars provide primary space surveillance coverage.

The ICBM force (apart from the SLBMs operated by the US Navy) consists of the Minuteman III missiles that provide a critical component of America's on-alert strategic forces. More than 500 ICBMs are currently on alert in reinforced concrete launch facilities
Missile silo

A missile silo is an underground, vertical cylindrical container for the storage and launching of intercontinental ballistic missiles . They typically have the missile some distance under the surface, protected by a large "blast shelter" on top....
 beneath the Great Plains
Great Plains

The Great Plains are the broad expanse of prairie and steppe which lie west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada....
.

AFSPC is the Air Force's largest operator of UH-1N and HH-1H Huey helicopters, responsible for missile operations support and security.

In popular culture

In the popular TV series Stargate SG-1
Stargate SG-1

Stargate SG-1 is an United States-Canadian science fiction television series, part of the Stargate. Its story begins one year after the events of the 1994 science fiction film Stargate ....
 and Stargate Atlantis
Stargate Atlantis

Stargate Atlantis is an United States-Canada science fiction television program, part of the Stargate owned by Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer. Developed by producers Brad Wright and Robert C....
, the Stargate Program is run by the Air Force
United States Air Force

The United States Air Force is the aerial warfare branch of the Military of the United States and one of the uniformed services of the United States....
 Space Command. (Stargate Command is a sub-command under the Space Command.) The AF Space Command Patch was worn on the uniform
Uniform

File:Porfirio Diaz paint.jpgA uniform is a set of standard clothing worn by members of an organization while participating in that organization's activity....
 of personnel aboard the Prometheus, Earth
Earth

Earth is the third planet from the Sun. Earth is the largest of the terrestrial planets in the Solar System in diameter, mass and density. It is also referred to as the World and Wiktionary:Terra.Note that by International Astronomical Union convention, the term "Terra" is used for naming extensive land masses, rather...
's first operational deep space
Deep Space

Deep Space may refer to:In Star Trek:* Battle of Deep Space Nine, the first major battle of the Dominion War* Deep Space Nine, space station in the fictional Star Trek universe...
 battle cruiser.

See also

  • United States Space Surveillance Network
    United States Space Surveillance Network

    The United States Space Surveillance Network is a critical part of United States Strategic Command's mission and involves detecting, tracking, cataloging and identifying man-made objects orbiting Earth, i.e....